Combining and integrating third-party services into your existing product isn't a new topic around here.  I've mentioned it on numerous occasions, usually in reference to using products from the likes of Google or Yahoo to add value to your website.  In a related but reversed twist, Google announced this weekend that it had created a new layer for Google Earth that incorporates information from Wikipedia, Panoramio, and it's Google Earth user base.

The new layer lets use "fly" across the globe looking at geographic information from Wikipedia, photos from Panoramio and Google Earth users, and experiences/stories written by Earth users.  Dubbed the "Geographic Web" layer, this new feature shows the wealth of information that can be collected from outside sources and put to use in an existing product.

If Google can do this, why can't we all?  It's not just about smaller websites using products from the big guys.  The reverse is also true:  even the big guys do it.  It may be as simple as adding a search box or an affiliate-type program to your website.  You don't have to spend thousands of hours or millions of dollars to do it.  The tools are already there… we just have to take advantage of them.